CEFTA SEED and Green Corridors Crucial to Improving Regional Cooperation – Acceleration of Passing of Trucks Carrying Perishable Goods Planned for This Year

The initiatives CEFTA SEED and Green Corridors play a key role in improving regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, and what’s also undeniable is their significance for the path of the states of the region toward the EU, pointed out the project manager of the SEED+ project with the CEFTA Secretariat, Edna Karadza. She said that the simplification of the customs procedures and the creation of the conditions for a faster and easier flow of information and goods at border crossings eliminated barriers to regional trade, increased the economic activity of the states and established strong bonds between the parties to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA).

– The importance of the SEED system and Green Corridors is undeniable – Karadza said.

She added that the cooperation between the customs administrations of the CEFTA and the neighboring EU members was being deepened through the Green Corridors initiative.

– This year, we plan to accelerate the passing of trucks carrying perishable goods, not just in the CEFTA, but with the EU as well – Karadza said.

Karadza emphasized that numerous activities within the CEFTA had been realized with the support of the EU, showing full dedication to the development of the states of the region and their preparation for future membership. Talking about the customs procedures, she reminded that numerous new features had been introduced in that field in the preceding ten years, all thanks to the CEFTA SEED system.

– Its implementation began in 2010, and today, that system, through an efficient exchange of data and documents, brings direct benefits to economic subjects, reduces burdens and facilitates trade procedures – Karadza said.

Karadza added that they had also updated the SEED system with additional possibilities arising from the CEFTA Additional Protocol 5 (AP5).

– The SEED+ system has thereby been developed, which, in addition to continued digitization, exchange of data and documents within the CEFTA in the fields of customs procedures, food safety, phytosanitary and veterinarian inspections and medical drug trading, also has as its goal the expansion to new fields such as the trade of services, electronic trade, infrastructure of quality and similar – Karadza said.

That way, she said, a path to a more prosperous trade ecosystem is being established.

– Furthermore, it will provide consulting support when needed in other digital initiatives, such as e-Freight and e-PoC (electronic Proofs of Origin Certificates) and support the operationalization of the CEFTA agreements, protocols and decisions, by accelerating the digital transition in the processes of enabling a free flow of goods, services, capital and people within the CEFTA – said Karadza.

She believes that the benefits of the CEFTA SEED system and the Green Corridors initiative, which was developed thanks to that system, are best shown by the numbers. Karadza said that, through the SEED system, they had developed a special methodology of measuring the time needed for trucks to cross the border.

– According to that methodology, last year, for the entire CEFTA, empty trucks waited 40 minutes on average at border crossings, goods carrying phytosanitary certificates waited 116 minutes on average, and goods carrying veterinarian certificates waited as much – specified Karadza.

She added that the average waiting time on all border crossings within the CEFTA had been 86 minutes, seven minutes less per truck compared to 2022.

– Therefore, keeping in mind that over 1.4 million trucks crossed the border, the waiting times reduced by nearly 19 years in total last year – said Karadza.

The biggest reduction of waiting times, of 17%, was recorded for goods carrying phytosanitary certificates, which is possibly a result of the electronic exchange of phytosanitary certificates, which was implemented at the end of 2022 through the CEFTA SEED system.

Central European Free Trade Agreement

CEFTA SEED

Green Corridors

Western Balkans

Edna Karadža

e Freight

e PoC

electronic Proofs of Origin Certificates

Port of Bar